Reminiscing
by illutia mist
Summary: All little things she did and heard reminded her of him.


**Hi, everybody! Here is a one-shot for Valentine's Day. This story has been in my mind for months and I have mentioned about it briefly in my LJ (if you read it carefully). I hope you like it :D**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Gakuen Alice and its characters, but I do own this story's plot.**

**To: My parents, my sisters, my friends, and all readers.**

Distance may separate two lovers

But not their undying feelings

Shape may vanish as time passes by

But memories are eternal

~illutia mist

-x-

She opened her eyes with a start, her hazel orbs greeted by the orange-colored ceiling. She stifled a small yawn and sat up on her bed lazily, closing her eyes for a bit in the process as she felt the remaining drowsiness was still trying to get her back to Dreamland.

She stretched her arms to relieve the stiffness after the long sleep and then got off her bed and made up the thing where she had slept on. Staring at the white mattress for a while, she drowned in her own thought for a while. A small smile made its way onto her face as she remembered a sweet memory. 'It has been a long time…'

-x-

_When the sun light shone into her room through her window, she knew she had no chance to prolong her sleep again. But somehow, her mind still denied the fact that the morning had come. She turned away and threw her arm to hug her big fluffy dog doll._

_But instead of her fluffy doll, she felt her arm draping over something hard and shaper. She wrinkled her eyebrows in wonder before she decided to open her eyes when curiosity had finally engulfed her mind._

_A shape of human male's body welcomed her sight. A white shirt covered the skin behind it, protecting it from the cold of the night. She blinked. Her eyes then moved up until she was face to face with the owner of the body her arms rested on now. _

_Then she shrieked while jumping out from the bed._

_The figure opened his eyes sleepily, crimson orbs staring at her in annoyance. "What are you shouting for, Polka?"_

-x-

She walked to the window and slid the curtain to the side. Her eyes lit up the moment sun light greeted her in that bright morning. She brought her hand to the glassy surface and trailed her fingers on it. A small whisper came out from her lips as she stared at the morning sun.

"Good morning, Natsume…"

Her lips curled into another smile as she mentioned a certain male's name. She detached herself from the window and walked to the kitchen on the other side of the room. She strolled to a wooden cupboard which was above the dishwasher, humming softly on the way.

Standing on her tiptoes, she stretched her hands up and opened the cupboard, taking out a bottle of coffee powder. She was about to reach her orange cup when her eyes caught something beside the cup and her hand halted in the way. Her eyes spotted a black cup beside the orange cup. Smiling, she moved her hand away from the orange cup and reached for the black cup instead. She clutched the cup and the bottle of coffee powder in her right hand while closing the door with her other free hand.

She set down those items in her hands on the counter and started to make her morning coffee.

-x-

"_This is terrible…"_

_She looked up. The man had a disgusted expression on his face as he stared at the black cup in his hand. His raven hair was tousled since he just woke up. His dark-blue sleeveless shirt had a few wrinkles on it, as well as his black short pants._

"_What is terrible?" she asked, tilting her head in confusion._

_He wrinkled his nose at the warm smoke that came out from his cup. "This coffee."_

_She blinked and then looked down at the orange cup of coffee in her hands. She brought it close to her nose and smelled the scent. "I don't smell anything wrong…" She then placed the edge of the cup to her lips and tilted the glass up, sipping a small amount of the black liquid. Pulling the glass away from her mouth, she tasted the liquid. Her eyes glanced away as she savored it. "No. Nothing's wrong."_

_The man looked at her in boredom, one eyebrow bent down. "…There's a problem with your tongue…"_

_She furrowed her eyebrows upon hearing his comment. "No. I think your nose is the one that has a problem," she retorted._

"_Oh, wait. You're the one who made this. Of course you don't know the bad smell," he remarked as he brought the cup to the sink and turned it upside down, pouring the thick liquid onto the silver-colored surface._

_Her eyes widened. "Natsume! You're wasting it!" she protested, putting down her cup onto the counter and scooting over to his direction, wishing she could save at least a half content of the cup. But when she arrived beside him, the man had turned the faucet on to wash the remains of the coffee inside his cup. Her mouth opened and then closed again, not knowing what to say after witnessing him throwing all of her effort in making the coffee just like that._

_He didn't have any expression on his face when he cleaned his cup and dried it with a dish rag. Without looking at her, he walked passing her to the counter where the bottle of coffee powder rested and started to make his own coffee._

_She stared at his back, watching him working on his drink. Pouting, she moved to the counter where she had placed her cup before. She took her orange cup and sipped her coffee while glaring at the man's profile. As she stared at his profile longer, her glare turned into a soft gaze. _

_She liked the sight in front of her._

_His long raven fringes that barely covered his crimson eyes, his short eyebrows, his long eyelashes, his sharp stare when he concentrated on doing something, his white creamy cheek, and his red soft lips. _

_She liked all of it._

"_This is what you call coffee."_

_Upon hearing that, she snapped out of her thought. He was sipping his new coffee with eyes closed, enjoying the good taste and smell. She blinked then looked down at her own coffee before she put it down and approached him in curiosity. "Could I try it?"_

_He opened his eyes and glanced at her._

"_No."_

-x-

She sipped her coffee while leaning her waist at the edge of the counter, her eyes staring to the other side of the kitchen where a small dining table and two identical dining chairs stood still.

They always sat there in the morning after making coffee and breakfast. She would keep on nagging him to share his coffee and she knew he would let her taste it in the end. He would roll his eyes and give her his morning drink. She would smile at him in return, bring the cup to her lips, sip the liquid, and get amazed of how good the taste was.

He would just smirk and continue eating his breakfast.

She closed her eyes as she imagined the scene. Lifting her black cup close to her nose, she inhaled deeply, taking the nice coffee scent into her nostrils.

The smell was just like the one he usually made.

She remembered the time when she asked him to teach her how to make a good coffee like the one he made. She remembered she needed two months and three weeks before he finally agreed to teach her how to make it.

He was strict and harsh. Yes, he was.

Sometimes, he would fool her by telling her to put in the wrong measure and add something strange inside the coffee. Nonetheless, she enjoyed it. If she closed her eyes, she could still hear his sarcastic comments clearly in her ears. And instead of getting annoyed, she would smile.

His voice was the one that always made her smile. It was husky, yet smooth. And she always loved it whenever he used it to whisper a few sweet words in her ear.

She stared at the black liquid in her cup and continued drinking it. Again, she closed her eyes when her tongue tasted the liquid and smiled. This was one thing that always reminded her of him every morning.

The sound of ringing phone brought her out of her trance. Holding the black cup in her right hand, she jogged out from her kitchen to her small and cozy living room. She approached a small coffee table beside a cream-colored couch and took the wireless noisy phone.

Settling her bottom down on the comfy couch, she pressed the answer button and held the phone close to her ear, smiling as she said, "Hello. This is Sakura."

"_Do you know what time it is?_"

She blinked. "Eh?" was her stupid reply.

A sigh was heard from across the phone line. "_It's already eleven, idiot. Have you forgotten that you have a breakfast appointment with me?_"

She blinked twice and then her eyes widened in realization. She lifted her head and gazed around the room, searching for a new clock she remembered she had put in the room two days ago. She found it on a beautiful mahogany drawer, between the rows of photos of her and her friends. The short needle was pointing at eleven and the long one was pointing at one. "Oh my goodness! I'm so sorry, Hotaru!"

Somehow, she could feel her best friend rolling her eyes at that time. "_Thanks to you, I had my breakfast alone. Now what?_"

"Um, how about we have lunch together?" she offered.

Another sigh came from the caller. "_He's right. You're really as slow as a turtle._" The brunette pouted at her comment. "_Fine. I'll be waiting for you, but just for thirty minutes. More than that, I'm going._"

Her lips formed a smile upon hearing her best friend's agreement. "Okay. Where?"

-x-

"_You're as slow as a turtle, Ichigo-kara."_

_She froze for a while and quickly turned to him, her hands reaching for anything to be thrown to the smirking man who was standing beside the closed door. "Get out, you pervert!" she screeched, grabbing a few heavy and thick books on her desk and then tossed it across her room._

_Natsume, being Natsume, avoided all things she sent to him easily as he made his way to her messy bed which had a few clothes covering most of its surface. She grabbed the last thing she could find on her desk, which was a desk lamp, and then threw it to him with all her might. _

_The raven-haired man ducked his head as his attempt to see the clothes on the bed closer and managed to avoid the flying thing in the nick of time. The desk lamp flew passing him and crashed the wall with a loud crashing sound before it landed on the floor in pieces. He turned his head towards her and smirked, only to make her more annoyed at his overconfident act._

"_You said you would wait outside!" she complained, grabbing random clothing from the bed to cover her half-naked body. She was just in her underwear and bra when he magically appeared inside her room._

_He shifted his gaze from her, staring at the remaining clothes which were laying on her bed. "You're taking too much time," he drawled, crimson eyes examining pieces of clothing in boredom. "Why do you have to take out all of your clothes from your closet?"_

_The brunette rolled her eyes. "It's because I'm a girl, pervert. Now, get out!" Her finger pointed straight to the door while glaring at him._

_Instead of walking out like what she wanted him to do, he looked at her, up and down, taking in her appearance. "Just wear that." He nodded his head to her, referring to the clothing she had in her hands at that time. "That's better than other clothes you have in your small closet."_

_She blinked and averted her gaze down to the clothing she used to cover her half-naked body. It was a simple white sundress. Bending her eyebrows, she looked up at him and said, "But I just wore this two weeks ago."_

_He shrugged and turned away, walking to the door's direction. "Well, I like it."_

-x-

"…Are you out of your mind?"

She swallowed a small piece of steak she had munched since a few seconds ago and looked up, finding her best friend staring back at her with a bored face. "I don't think so, Hotaru. Why?" she asked, fingers reaching for the straw in her glass and drawing it to her lips.

The owner of violet eyes dabbed her lips with a clean napkin and spoke, "Well, you do know what month it is, right?"

She nodded. "It's February."

"Addition. A cold February," the raven-haired woman stated. "Why are you wearing a sundress under the jacket?" She pointed at the brunette's attire, thinking that the girl had gone insane to wear a summer dress in the cold weather.

The auburn-haired girl blinked and simply answered, "Because he likes it."

Hotaru pulled back her finger and rubbed her temple with it. "Mikan, even though he likes to see you wearing that piece of clothing, he won't be that insane to let you wear it at time like this. You can catch a cold."

"That's why I wear a jacket," the girl said. "And plus," she patted a brown-colored thick coat which was resting on the back of her chair, "I wear an extra coat." She grinned, proud that she wasn't as dumb as her best friend thought.

But the raven-haired woman wasn't happy with that. She still thought the brunette was stupid and it looked like she didn't care about her own health. Didn't the dense girl know that she would make everyone worried, especially her friends, if something happened to her?

"…Idiot…" Hotaru muttered under her breath, which, unfortunately, was heard by her companion.

"I'm not an idiot," Mikan mumbled as she cut another small piece of steak, stabbed it with her fork, and then shoved it into her mouth.

Hotaru didn't pay any heed to what she said and continued having her own lunch. "If you go into a mental hospital because of him, I'll make sure I'll punish that man severely when I meet him."

The brunette just smiled and commented, "I won't."

Hotaru glanced at her in doubt, but then she sternly said, "I hold your words."

-x-

"_Idiot…"_

_She kept her face buried on her arms at his sarcastic comment. However, she sent a glare to him from the corner of her eye. "Shut up, fox." She spotted him glaring deadly at her after hearing the nickname she gave him. She smirked inwardly at this._

_The male scoffed and averted his eyes from her. "Better a fox than an idiot. At least the fox is clever." His lips formed a sideways smirk. "And I know better than to run away from my home and leave my family just to catch up with my friend, when it is obvious that you won't be able to get out from this place once you enter it."_

_She didn't retort, just kept on planting her face on her folded arms. A few hours ago, Narumi just gave her a letter from her grandfather. She was happy to receive the white envelope at first, since she had been waiting it for a month. But the expression Narumi had on his face when he delivered the letter to her bothered her mind. He had a sad smile when he saw her joyous face. She asked him what was wrong, but the man just shook his head and walked away. When she read the letter, she finally understood why the man made a sad face._

_Her grandfather had passed away. His not-young-again body had reached its limit and he must go away even though he didn't want to. It was his last letter he could write to her, with a help from their neighbor. In the letter, he said he didn't regret his life. He was happy to have her as his granddaughter. The only thing he regretted was he couldn't see her granddaughter's face for the last time. But in the end of the letter, he told her that she would be fine and he would watch her from heaven._

_That was when she broke down and decided to shut herself at the Sakura tree, away from everyone. She cried over his grandfather's death and blamed herself for not being with him in his last time._

_But it looked like someone had found out why she didn't go near anyone that day. And if a certain raven-haired lad she loathed could find out, so could her other friends._

"_Go away, Hyuuga," she hissed. "I don't want to be pitied by you."_

_He raised one of his eyebrows. "Who said I pity you?" he said, a mocking tone in his voice. "I just want to tell you that you better don't do anything you'll regret in the future. This is a lesson for you to learn."_

_She snapped her head to him, anger visible on her tear-stained face. "You should have said this is a lesson for me to get tough, not a lesson for me not to do something I'll regret in the future," she countered. "People will die eventually and other people around them will learn to be tough and go on their lives without their presences. With that, people grow up. Death wasn't something to be regretted. After all, the memories of them are recorded in other people's hearts, which means they're still alive inside our mind."_

_He didn't say anything, his expression urging her to continue. So without waiting for his response, she continued, "And I believe he will stay by my side and take care of me even though I couldn't see him again."_

_He shrugged. "If you know that perfectly, then why should I say that again?" he asked in boredom._

_She blinked at his answer, the tears in her eyes had dried._

_When she didn't reply, he said, "I won't waste my voice just to tell you things you already know. You'll make my throat dry."_

_She was still in her mute mode and just stared at him as if he had grown two heads. A smile slowly made its way onto her face, replacing her grieving mood with a happier atmosphere, and her lips started to form some words to show him her gratitude._

_He shifted his gaze away from her and said, "Thank me with something else."_

_She looked at him in confusion at first then a big smile appeared on her face as an idea came into her mind. "What if I make you some food?" she asked in excitement._

_He snorted. "No. You're bad at cooking."_

"_Hey!" She puffed her cheek, hands on her hips._

"…_Just smile," he murmured._

_She blinked and moved her face closer to his, trying to grasp what he just said. "What did you say?"_

_He moved his piercing crimson eyes to her brown one and repeated louder, "Just keep that stupid smile of yours on your ugly face."_

_Her eyebrows twitched in annoyance. "Natsume! You're such a jerk!" she hollered. He smirked at her irritation. But to his dismay, the small entertainment was over when he saw a smile creeping upon her lips in the next second. "But okay, I'll smile as my sign of thanks," she said._

"…_Hn…But don't show that smile in front of me."_

"_Natsume! You!"_

"_I hold your words."_

-x-

"So, you're going to see him today?"

She turned to her left and found her best friend staring at the laughing kids that were playing on the slider near a withered tree. She smiled and started to move the swing she was sitting on at that time. "Uh-huh."

Hotaru sighed and moved the swing she sat on a bit while watching the brunette moving her legs back and forth to make her swing sway higher. "You see him everyday."

She shook her head, still swaying her legs to swing higher. "Not really. I barely have time to be with him now. Not like two years ago, now I have work to do, so I can be with him just for a while," she said a bit loud. "But today is special, Hotaru. It's Valentine's Day and the office has a holiday because it's Saturday, so I can be with him as long as I want!" she squealed and tightened her hold on the swing chains so she wouldn't fall, finally stopping her legs from moving and letting the swing sway by itself.

Her best friend smiled a bit at the brunette's childish act. She then swayed on her place, eyes staring back to two kids who were playing seesaw. "Sometimes, I'm amazed at your relationship with him. It's like nothing could separate you two."

Mikan's swing swayed lower as she smiled at the raven-haired woman, eyes sparkling in happiness at the thought of meeting a certain male later. "Nothing could separate us too, Hotaru. Don't worry," she chirped.

Hotaru pretended to scoff. "I already have a boyfriend, thank you. He will think I'm lesbian if you say that in front of him."

An angelic laugh escaped from the brunette's lips as she pressed her toes onto the ground to stop her swing. "Ruka-pyon won't think like that. He knows well that we're best friends. He's also my best friend anyway." She wrapped her coat tighter to her body. Even with a jacket and a thick coat, she could still feel the chill in the air biting into her skin. She knew she shouldn't wear a sundress at time like this, but she couldn't help but obey her selfish thinking to please someone.

"Cold?" she heard Hotaru ask.

She shook her head and kept her bright smile on her face. "It's okay. It will be paid by extra warmth when he sees me in this sundress."

The raven-haired woman snorted. "It better be."

She just laughed.

Two little girls, one had blonde hair and the other had red hair, ran to their direction happily, but they stopped when they saw two women had occupied the swings. Mikan stopped laughing when she felt being stared at. She turned her head away from her best friend and found two kids staring at her with a disappointed look on their faces. Knowing what the kids wanted, she stood up and stepped aside. "Want me to swing it for you?" she asked.

Her offer was accepted by the kids and they nodded enthusiastically as their answers. Mikan chuckled and beckoned them to sit on the swing. They ran to her direction with happy faces. Hotaru also stood up and stepped aside, giving the second kid a pleasure to enjoy the swing. She was being generous today, so she would sway the swing for the kid without asking for any payment. Who was crazy enough to ask for a payment from a kid anyway?

Mikan helped the red-haired one to get onto the wooden seat. When she placed her on the seat, something fell off from the little girl's pocket. She crouched down, intending to pick it for the kid, but her hand stopped in the mid air when she saw what it was.

A key chain lay coldly on the ground with a strawberry-shaped ornament in the end of it.

She was in daze for a moment, until the red-haired girl called her, "Are you okay, Ma'am?"

Snapping out of her thoughts, Mikan picked the key chain and placed it on the girl's small palm. She smiled and spoke, "It's a cute key chain."

The little girl smiled back at her and nodded. "Miria gave it to me as our friendship gift," she proudly said while pointing at the little blonde-haired girl who had sat on the swing beside her with Hotaru's help. "She gave me this, while I gave her a key chain with an orange in the end of the chain."

Mikan nodded in understanding and then stood up. She walked behind her and placed her hands on the swing chains. "Are you ready, kid?" she asked, smiling down at the excited little girl on the swing.

The little girl looked up at her, smiling widely and nodding her head once.

The brunette took two steps backwards, dragging the swing along with her hands, and then released it.

-x-

"_Na-tsu-me."_

_The aforementioned boy looked up and his eyebrows bent down in annoyance when he saw a mischievous smile on her face. "What, Polka-Dots?" he grunted, shifting his attention back to the manga in his hands._

_She took a seat beside him and faced him, smiling like an idiot while keeping her hands behind her back. "Guess what?"_

"_I don't want to play stupid guessing game."_

_Her lips formed a cute pout at his indifferent answer. "Come on. Just guess what I have in my hands now," she insisted, her face moving closer to his, much to his discomfort._

"_Idiot germs," he said without looking at her._

_Eyebrows twitching, she hit his head playfully with the thing in her hand. "No, you idiot! They're oranges!" She shoved two oranges in front of his face._

_He glared at her for hitting him with the oranges and growled, "So what?"_

_Huffing, the brunette crossed her arms in front of her and kicked one of the desk's legs with her shoe. "I was thinking of sharing it with you. But seeing your rude behavior just now, I think I take my offer back." She stuck out her tongue at him and held the oranges in her arms protectively._

_He scoffed. "Like I care. I don't want to infect myself with your idiot germs inside the orange. Who knows what you have done to the fruits. You might have injected poison into it using a syringe."_

_She rolled her eyes at his non-sense thinking. "Do you think I'm that cruel to poison you and see you die while laughing my head off at you suffering? For your information, I'm not someone who likes to see my friend dying in front of me. I don't want to see anyone die. Let alone poison them."_

_Her statement got a lazy shrug from him. "Who knows? You hate me anyway and I'm sure you have one or two plans to kill me," he uttered, reading his manga again. "You don't have to do it anyway. I'll die when it's already my time. It's not like you don't know that I'm already dying now."_

_Her lips curled down into a frown upon hearing this. "…You're not dying, Natsume," she mumbled, looking down at the oranges in her hands. "You'll live longer, date someone your love, have a small family with her, see your grandchildren's smiles," she drawled, turning her face to him once again only to find him also staring at her, "and you'll die in peace with wrinkles on your face and old body…"_

_His face was expressionless all the time he heard her speak. An awkward silence then fell upon them, but no one of them made any move. They just stared at each other and spoke in silence. Their gazes exchanged words they couldn't say out._

'_It won't happen.'_

'_It will. You must be optimistic.'_

'_Easy for you to say.'_

'_No, Natsume. You'll be fine. Believe me.'_

_A smirk on his lips broke the silent conversation between them. "Whatever you say," he intoned, turning his head away from her, reading his manga back. "But I still won't eat the orange. I don't want to take any risk."_

_She gritted her teeth and muttered incoherent words under her breath, too annoyed with his rude behavior since she came to that place. She stood up and stomped away from the place, still rambling something unclear, mostly cursing._

"_Next time, bring strawberries."_

"_You wish, egoistic pervert!" She continued to stomp away. What he didn't know was a smile was playing on her lips after she heard his last statement._

"_Strawberries, huh?"_

-x-

"Is this enough?"

Mikan nodded. "How much?" She took out an amount of money from her purse and paid the shopkeeper. She then thanked the man, took a paper bag that contained two small boxes of strawberries from him, and skipped out from the fruit shop with a happy face.

Once she was outside the shop, she turned to her left and continued walking to her destination. She hummed a nameless song softly while walking, her eyes glancing around at other pedestrians. She could spot a few couples at the place. They were walking side by side, the males holding their girls' hands while the girls were moving closer to their lovers, trying to warm each other in the cold weather.

She smiled at the sight and then focused her eyes on the way in front of her. Her journey didn't take too much time. A few minutes later, she could see the place where she used to live for ten years before she moved out three years ago. The same huge black gate was still on its place, separating the world where she was standing now with the other world behind its steady steel.

Her eyes spotted a wavy-blonde haired man walking to her direction from the other side of the gate. Mikan didn't hesitate to lift her hand and wave at him. "Narumi-sensei!"

As the man got closer to her, she could see a bright smile gracing his face. "Mikan-chan! You finally come!" he greeted while his hand motioned the guards at the security post to open the gate.

When the gate had been opened, the brunette walked in and was directly being embraced by the man she once thought of as her father. She sighed in content as she felt the warmth the man emitted. It had been so cold since she walked out from her house with a sundress beneath her jacket and thick coat. "I'm sorry. I woke up a bit late today," she apologized, breaking the huge.

He smiled at her, a smile that a father would give to their daughter when they met after a long time. "It's okay, Mikan-chan. I knew you would come eventually. Today is a special day anyway."

She nodded and lifted a paper bag in her hand. "Look what I've found before I arrived here. Strawberries!"

Narumi let out a soft laugh and said, "He must be happy, Mikan-chan. Do you want to meet him now?"

The brunette grinned. "Of course!"

-x-

"_A chocolate?" Natsume wrinkled his nose in disgust at the thing she shoved in front of him. A big heart-shaped chocolate with Natsume's name on it was resting on her open palms._

_She nodded and smiled. "As a good friend, I have to give all my friends chocolates as a sign of my love for them."_

_He snorted. "I would rather have howalon than your poisoned chocolate," he grumbled, turning away from the brunette and walking to his destination._

"_Hey! Wait!" Mikan held the chocolate carefully in her hands and chased him. She wasn't afraid she would be caught by his fan girls and get beaten up when she gave him the chocolate. It had been eight at midnight anyway. Fan girls had gotten their chance to give their chocolates to the raven-haired lad at day, so they wouldn't chase him at night too. At least that was what she thought. "Why don't you like chocolates so much?" she asked when she had arrived by his side._

_He spared her a quick glance and then focused on his way again. "I simply don't like it. They're sweet."_

_She raised an eyebrow. "Strawberry is sweet too," she remarked._

_He growled. "It's not all sweet. It's also sour," he countered. "Now just leave me alone and mind your own business." He strolled faster, attempting to leave her behind._

"_I haven't done with you yet!" she shouted, determined to catch up with him no matter where he went. She ran with all her might and managed to catch up with him three seconds later. "Take my chocolate first and I'll leave you alone!"_

_He glanced at her. "No."_

"_Take it!"_

"_No."_

"_Natsume!"_

"_Polka-dots. Ops, sorry. Ichigo-kara."_

"_PERVERT!"_

_In the next second, she had been dragged into a broom closet by the lad. She wanted to yell, but his hand on her mouth prevented her from doing so. She flailed her free hand and managed to grab his hair. She pulled it hard and she could hear him hissing in pain and annoyance. She smirked at her victory. But when she felt his hot breath near her neck and her back pressing tightly against his chest, she squealed in panic, which was muffled by his broad hand, and tried to hit him once again._

"_Shut up or I'll burn you into a crisp," he threatened in a dangerous tone. "You're going to make the stupid fan girls find me, Ichigo-kara."_

_True enough, sound of footsteps was heard running to the direction where they were hiding two seconds later. Through a small hole at the closet door, she could see a few fan girls running past them while squealing Natsume's name. They had to stay inside the broom closet until the fan girls were gone from the place._

_The footsteps were heard fainter and fainter in every second. When she didn't hear any footstep again, she sighed in relief and realized that his hand was still covering her mouth. She glared down at his hand and then bit it hard, which was a big success since the lad winced in pain and quickly pulled his hand away from her mouth's reach._

"_Cannibal," he muttered irritatingly while rubbing his hurting hand. She stuck out her tongue at him, which got a glare from him in return. "…I'll go away from this place when I have graduated from this hell school," he grunted, opening the door and shoving both of his hands into his pockets before walking out from the broom closet._

_The brunette also walked out with an annoyed face. She closed the door and then jogged to his side. "Where will you go after the graduation?" she asked as she munched on the chocolate in her hand and then grimaced at the taste in the next second. "…Damn, I have to learn to make a better chocolate again…"_

_He smirked. "I knew it. It couldn't be eaten."_

_She scowled and punched his arm, just to get another deadly glare from her partner. She dismissed his glare with a wave of her hand and repeated her question, "So, where will you go after you have graduated from this school?"_

_He was silent for a while. A long sigh escaped from his lips as he answered, "To a place where I can sleep without being disturbed."_

_She nodded in understanding and the two of them just walked in silence to the dormitory after the conversation. The chocolate problem was forgotten just like that._

-x-

Mikan's eyes lit up when she saw the remembrance Sakura tree still standing straight on the academy round. She swung her feet faster and ended up running to the tree, smiling all the way. White smokes escaped from her lips as she panted, but she hardly could feel the coldness again. The ecstasy feeling dominated her mind, blocking the cold air from her system.

Once she arrived at the tree, she rested her palm on its trunk, feeling the cold rough surface under her skin. She closed her eyes and smiled as all moments she had spent with him under the tree rushed into her mind. "It has been a while…" she muttered.

She circled the tree, her hands feeling its curve and uneven surface. "It has been five days since the last time I see you, Mr. Tree. Your appearance is still like a dead tree," she said to no one. "I can't wait to see you in spring."

She patted the surface gently and crouched down. A smile crept across her lips as she saw a sturdy rectangle-shaped stone standing under the tree trunk. She trailed her hand on the stone, the tip of her fingers feeling every letter which was carved on the surface. She closed her eyes and spelled those letters in her mind. Her lips were moving, following every letter her fingers found, but no sound came out from it.

Natsume Hyuuga.

When her fingers had reached the last letter, she opened her eyes and smiled. Those two words always sounded so good in her ears, no matter how many times she repeated it.

She pulled her hand back and unbuttoned her coat, opening it a bit to reveal the white sundress under the thick material and jacket. "You ever said you like it. So, in this special day, I wear it for you." She smiled.

She then shoved her hand into the paper bag she had brought with her. She took out two boxes of strawberries and then placed one of them in front of the stone while she had another box in her hand. She moved to its side and leaned her back on the Sakura trunk, eyes staring at the box in her left hand. Moving her right hand, she opened the box, took out one strawberry, and then shoved it into her mouth. Her eyes shut close and her lips puckered a bit as she tasted it.

"It's sweet…but it's also sour…" she whined, but she kept on eating it. Two strawberries, three strawberries…until it was just a half of the content that was remained in the box.

She then closed the box and stared down at the stone beside her. The box was still untouched. "You said you don't like chocolates, so I gave you a box of strawberries." She smiled. "Happy Valentine's Day, Natsume…"

Wind blew her hair gently, caressing her exposed skin on the way. Strangely, the wind wasn't as cold as she had felt earlier. Instead, it was a bit warm and, somehow, tried to comfort her. A contented sigh came out from her lips as the wind engulfed her for a few seconds and then disappeared by all of a sudden.

"Mikan!"

She looked up at the voice and saw her so-called father waved at her from far away. "All teachers want to meet you!" Narumi yelled again.

Mikan saw a box in his hand and grinned when she saw its pink wrapper. She wondered who had given her favorite teacher a chocolate. She might check it out later. "Coming!" she yelled back and then turned towards the stone to bid it temporary goodbye before she came back to visit it later, at least after she greeted all teachers she knew at Alice Academy. "I have to go now. But don't worry, I will come back later, okay?"

She smiled and stood up, shoving her strawberry box inside the paper bag and buttoning up her opened coat in the process. When she looked down, she was surprised to see the box of strawberries near the stone open a bit. But she smiled anyway and then turned away, running to the direction where her ex-teacher was standing at that time.

She didn't have to be worried. She didn't have to rush it.

They still had so much time to catch up later, so much time to reminisce their past, even though the worlds where they were staying now were different.

It was because just by remembering the moments she had shared with him, he was alive inside her and it would be enough for her to go on with her life. And if she missed him, she just needed to whisper, "I miss you…" And the wind would carry her message to the heaven where he was now.

When he heard her message, his lips would form his trademark smirk and he would send his message back to her through the wind; the message that would erase her longing for him.

'…I miss you too…'

**And that's it.**

**Yes, it's not like my usual fluffy happy ending stories. I try to make it not too sad though…maybe it even isn't sad at all, huh? (Sweat drops) This is my first try in making a story where Natsume is actually -cough- dead. I hope I do it good.**

**Well, thank you for reading the story and Happy Valentine's Day to all of you! Like usual, comments will be appreciated :)**


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